Rector Lenar Safin met with His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud

A Saudi Arabian delegation headed by His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, Head of the King Faisal Center for Islamic Studies, paid a working visit to Kazan Federal University.

Accompanied by Rector Lenar Safin, the guests of honor toured the exposition of rare printed and manuscript editions of the Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books of KFU, where the first Muslim printed edition of the Quran was presented to the Prince. It was recognized as the first in the whole Muslim world and was published in 1803 in the Asiatic Printing House at the Kazan Gymnasium (later to become Kazan University) in two versions of the edition – two volumes and a small-size, ten-volume edition for children’s convenience.

It was in Saudi Arabia, in the city of Jeddah, during the meeting of the Strategic Vision Group Russia – Islamic World in November 2021 that the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov proposed to set said year as a memorable date for the publication of the first printed Quran prepared by Muslims.

During the visit, the strong diplomatic relations established between Russia and Saudi Arabia were also noted. Cooperation in education was also discussed.

Currently Kazan University is discussing promising areas for cooperation with a number of scientific and educational centers of the Kingdom. In particular, the Center for Liquid Hydrocarbons presented its developments to Saudi colleagues at a number of events.

In addition, Saudi Arabia played a crucial role in the positive decision to include the Kazan University Astronomical Observatory in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The 45th special session of the World Heritage Committee – which confirmed the decision – was held in Riyadh in September 2023.